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Five Ways To Pinch Pennies

Every little bit helps

By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com

September 24, 2009
Though the economy is slowly recovering, jobs are still disappearing and pay raises are hard to come by. But money experts say there are a number of simple things every consumer can do to make their money go farther.

Food For Thought

For starters, use coupons at the grocery store. Lots of us don't want to take the time and effort to collect coupons for a a few cents off a carton of cottage cheese, but these small savings can add up. And some are not so small.

Think about it this way; the food manufacturer and the grocery store have already priced in these discounts in their profit margin. They're still making money, because those who don't use coupons are going to pay more than they should. Therefore, if you don't want to overpay, use coupons.

You can cut coupons out of the Sunday circulars but you can also pick up coupons at the store itself. Many groceries print coupons on the back of the register receipt. Make sure you keep them and use them. Over time the savings will add up.

Let Your Fingers Do The Saving

You may also be paying too much for telephone service. Does everyone in your household have a cell phone? If so, hopefully you're on a family plan – and if there are teens in the house, their plan had better have unlimited texting. Teens can easily send and receive 2,000 texts in a month.

If everyone has a cell phone, do you really need a land line? That's about $30 a month that you can save. If you're unsure, monitor how many calls you make or receive in a month. Ask yourself if the people who call you on your land line were suddenly unable to, would you miss them?

Driving Down Costs

For most people, a car is their second largest purchase, after their home. Operating the car is a pretty large expense too. Not only does it use gasoline, it requires periodic maintenance to keep it running. You also have to pay to insure it, and in some states, you have to pay a personal property tax on it each year.

Going from two cars to one simply isn't practical for most families, but its worth giving some consideration. Can you get by with one vehicle? It might mean taking the bus to work – or riding a bicycle – but reducing your automotive fleet by one can have a big impact on your cash flow.

Do You Feel Lucky?

Consumers have insurance for their cars, their homes, their health – sometimes even their pets. Chances are, you could be over-insured. An insurance policy, after all, is a bet. You're betting you'll need it and the insurance company is betting you won't.

They have armies of numbers crunchers who have figured the odds on this particular gamble, and those odds are reflected in your premium. Just as in Vegas, the odds always favor the house.

Take a close look at all your insurance policies to determine if you can't lower the monthly premiums, either by shopping around or by increasing the deductible. How much is your home insured for? Make sure it isn't “over insured.”

Better The Second Time Around

Where you shop will make a difference in your monthly budget. Yes, shopping at a discount store instead of a retailer at the mall will save money. But you're save even more money if you can find a good thrift store. Thrift stores sell used items people no longer want – the kinds of things you often find at yard sales.

It's true that a lot of thrift store items are actually junk, but there are also some very good values. Linens, kitchen equipment and utensils and clothing are examples of good values. Children's clothing, especially, can be good values because they are usually hardly worn, as kids outgrow them quickly.

Thrift stores are also handy if you want to try a yogurt maker, for example. Instead of paying $25 at Target you can purchase a used one at a thrift store $2, and decide if you really want to make your own yogurt. If not, you're only out $2.

Thrift stores are not a good place to buy electronics. Usually they are old technology, and there's a strong likelihood the item won't work for very long.

There are probably some other areas within your monthly fixed expenses that can yield some savings. To identify them, gather all your bills in one spot and try to come up with a realistic cost-reduction strategy.

The most important thing to do is identify what you really need and stop spending on things that you can live without. It might not be easy, but unless you stop overspending on things that you don't really need, you'll probably find it hard to bring down your monthly spending.

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